1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to needle curving devices and, more particularly, to surgical needle curving devices for curving one or more needles simultaneously.
2. Description of the Related Art
Surgical needle manufacture is an extremely precise and time consuming process, particularly where individual needles are formed one at a time. Conventional surgical needle manufacturing typically begins with the step of cutting round wire stock to a predetermined length. One end of the stock is then tapered to provide a cutting edge while the opposite end may be manipulated or processed to attain a flattened or other predetermined shape. Later, typically after almost all of the processing is completed, the stock is cut to its final length and then prepared for suture attachment. The needle may then be subjected to further processing, i.e., further refinement such as grinding, polishing and/or hardening.
Curved needles have advantages over other needle configurations in many surgical procedures for a variety of reasons including, uniformity of entry depth for multiple sutures, and proper "bite" of tissue surrounding the incision or wound. When providing curved needles for surgical procedures it is desirable for the needles to have a specified curvature, i.e., a predetermined radius of curvature. The predetermined radius of curvature for the needle may vary with specific applications.
Configuration of a needle includes curving or forming the needle into predetermined shapes and may be accomplished by using conventional curving methods. Such conventional curving methods may include bending a needle around an anvil structure having a desired curving surface to curve a needle to a predetermined radius of curvature.
Where a curved needle is to have a bore for receiving a suture, it is desirable for the curving procedure to precede boring the needle so that the hole is not deformed by the curving procedure.
To attain the desired needle configuration, the anvil structure provides a shaping surface for deforming the needle. Typically, a needle is positioned for curving by manually placing the needle for engagement with an anvil structure. The needle may be held by hand or placed in a holding device which is manipulated manually.
It is further known that because needles are made of steel or similar springy materials, the anvil or mandrel used should have a smaller radius than the radius desired in the final needle to allow for some springback after the bending operation. A disclosure of such features may be found in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,534,771 to McGregor et al.
One disadvantage to conventional needle curving is that only one needle can be curved around an anvil structure at a time. Moreover, the needle is positioned for engagement about an anvil surface using manual means. Further, during the needle curving process the needle may be damaged.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a needle curving device that is capable of simultaneously curving a multiplicity of needles. It would further be desirable to provide a needle curving device to cooperate with a needle holding structure for positioning one or a multiplicity of needles for curving. It would further be desirable for a needle curving device to substantially avert damaging needles. It would also be desirable for a needle curving device to entertain substantially continuous needle curving. It would further be desirable to provide a needle curving device to curve a multiplicity of needles in predetermined configurations.